Veep Race: McCain/Romney Would Lose?

Bill Kristol's op-ed this morning focuses on the possibility that John McCain might pick La governor Bobby Jindal as his running mate. While that is an interesting possibility to discuss (personally, I think he needs to serve as governor for a few years), this excerpt about Mitt Romney caught my attention:

"Another McCain staffer called my attention to this finding in the latest Fox News poll: McCain led Obama in the straight match-up, 46 to 43. Voters were then asked to choose between two tickets, McCain-Romney vs. Obama-Clinton. Obama-Clinton won 47 to 41.

That reversal of a three-point McCain lead to a six-point deficit for the McCain ticket suggests what might happen (a) when the Democrats unite, and (b) if McCain were to choose a conventional running mate, who, as it were, reinforced the Republican brand for the ticket. As the McCain aide put it, this is what will happen if we run a traditional campaign; our numbers will gradually regress toward the (losing) generic Republican number."

Kristol admits this scenario depends on Obama being the nominee. I might also add that this scenario assumes Obama would pick Hillary; he wouldn't. Still, this serves as a bit of a blow to those who are hoping for a McCain/Romney ticket.

It is also interesting to note that it was McCain staffers who reportedly brought this to Kristols' attention ...